Author Notes
This golden- brown tart is nutty and not too sweet, and it’s simple to make. This dough is buttery and enriched with egg yolks; it makes a tender and flavorful crostata shell. We give instructions for making the dough in the food processor because it’s the quickest and most fail- proof method. Of course, making pastry without a machine is enjoyable, so if you are nimble with your fingers, go ahead—the steps are the basically the same. Chill the dough well and work quickly while rolling it. Don’t worry about perfection; we do lots of patching in the pan, pressing any broken pieces back together.
From Via Carota: A Celebration of Seasonal Cooking from the Beloved Greenwich Village Restaurant by Jody Williams and Rita Sodi, with Anna Kovel. Copyright © 2022 by Jody Williams and Rita Sodi. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. —Food52
Ingredients
- Almond Filling
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8 tablespoons
unsalted butter, room temperature
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1/2 cup
granulated sugar
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2
large eggs
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1 tablespoon
almond liqueur
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2 1/2 cups
almond flour (or finely ground almonds)
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1/2 teaspoon
kosher salt
- Pasta Frolla (Sweet Pastry Dough)
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2 cups
all-purpose flour
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1/2 cup
granulated sugar
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1/4 teaspoon
kosher salt
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2
sticks cold unsalted butter, thinly sliced
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Finely grated zest of half an orange (about 1 teaspoon)
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2
large egg yolks, lightly beaten
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1 1/2 cups
sliced, blanched almonds
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Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Directions
- Almond Filling
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Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and pale in a bowl, or in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs 1 at a time, blending thoroughly after each addition. Stir in the almond liqueur, almond flour, and salt, and mix to a smooth paste. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.
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The filling can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.
- Pasta Frolla (Sweet Pastry Dough)
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Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to blend them. Add the butter and pulse a few times until the mixture is crumbly with a few almond- sized pieces of butter.
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Add the orange zest and, with the machine running, pour the egg yolks through the feed tube into the dough. Pulse just until the dough comes together against the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough onto a work surface. Gather any flour, press the dough until compact, and knead lightly a couple of times. If making the dough by hand, whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips until barely crumbly with a few almond-sized pieces, then stir in the zest and egg yolks.
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Divide the dough into two pieces, and tightly wrap each piece in parchment paper or plastic wrap. Press into disks (about ¾ inch/ 2 cm thick). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling, up to 2 days.
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Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it soften slightly, about 10 minutes; it should be malleable but still feel cool to the touch. Dust a wooden board with flour and have extra flour on the side. Roll the dough into a circle about 10 inches/25 cm in diameter, using flour to dust the board and the rolling pin as needed. Lift the dough by loosely wrapping it around the rolling pin and carefully transfer to a 9 inch/23 cm pastry tin with a removable bottom. Don’t worry if it breaks, just patch any cracks or tears. Press the dough firmly into the bottom of the tin and trim the edges. Fold any overhanging dough against the sides, making the sides thicker than the bottom. Flatten the rim so it’s flush with the top of the tin. Refrigerate or freeze the tart shell until firm, at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
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Preheat the oven to 375ºF/190ºC. Prick the pastry bottom in several places with a fork. Fill the tart shell with almond filling and spread evenly. Scatter the sliced almonds on top, covering the filling completely. Bake until the almonds and crust are golden brown, and the filling has puffed slightly, 30 to 35 minutes. Set on a wire rack to cool. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
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